Overdue Vacation Recap

I think my brain has been on vacation all summer. I just can't seem to sit down and spend any time at the computer now that I don't have to do it for a living, but I do miss my blog, so I need to be a little more intentional I guess, since this post is a month overdue!

Last summer, our family visited the Carolina Coast to guest preach at a friend's church out there. Little did we know that we would completely fall in love with the sleepy beach town and have such a wonderful (too short!) few days there. When we were planning our vacation this year, I researched a number of option all over the country, but our hearts just kept taking us back to the Wilmington area. We remembered a stretch of beach where there were perfect, happy, colorful beach houses and my very diligent husband searched until he found one.

Knowing that we had much more space this time of year, we invited two other families to join us and spent 8 glorious days at our Kure beach house. Unfortunately I left my SD card at home, so the only "good camera" we had was my sister's (which I used a lot), but I figured I could do an all iPhone photo recap since I have many from that, too. So brace yourself for picture overload... here is our vacation in pictures:

Fun at the "Big Yellow House":

Morning coffee never tasted so good

Movie night with the cousins

Best Buddies

Family nap time happened daily... and I loved having this one join me in my bed!

Front Porch Sittin'

Nothing says summer vacation like watermelon in your underwear!

Sand and Surf:

This guy couldn't get enough of the beach!

After months at the gym, this mama braved a bikini again...
I want to always look good for that stud muffin next to me! 

TWINSIES!

This is the only way to keep Jake in one spot for an extended period of time.
Silly boy loved to be buried in the sand!

Most of our days looked like this, but I love gloomy beach days!

And it definitely didn't stop us from enjoying the ocean!

Lilly enjoys the same beach activities as her mama... that's my girl!

Day Tripping - Aquarium, Southport Ferry, and Jungle Island:

He's most definitely the biggest kid in our family!

Jake was a little more timid at the aquarium this year... he stayed close to his protector

Can you spot the native here? This guy was in the wild... not behind glass. Yikes!

I couldn't get enough of my nephew Sam on this trip! Isn't he adorable??

Daddy shows Lilly how to be "king of the world" on the ferry ride!

Jake loved "real life" Mario-Karting

They may look sweet and innocent, but Sam and Gretchen are fierce when it comes to competition!

We NEED one of these in our city. A warehouse full of playland equipment? Yes please!

Lilly was (somehow) our big winner at the arcade

The Boardwalk:

By far Jake's favorite ride... Josh and the "carni" were good friends by the night's end

Lil was brave enough to get on the carousel.
She was not brave enough to actually ride on a horse!

Jake LOVED having cousin Adam there to ride the rides with!

Our big boys went all by themselves... where did our babies go?

Here they are! Sisters and our (also growing too fast) babies!

Lilly's favorite ride of the night was on mama's back. I'll be sad when she's too big for this.

The Food:

These guys cooked most of our meals all week. I'll do dishes any day to not have to cook!

And this was just course one!

We found the perfect ocean-front patio for lunch on Southport Island

The kids did great despite the heat and it being nap time

If you're ever at Carolina Beach, go to Michealangelo's and order the Godfather.
BIGGEST. PIZZA. EVER. And so good that I may or may not have had more than one slice! 

This guy even got into the action!

The Night Life:

Believe it or not, we did get out for an adult-only evening!
And believe it or not, the "night life" in this sleepy beach town is limited!

We were very sad that the only ocean-front locale closed due to a few sprinkles

We got over it fairly quickly though

And just settled for dinner and dessert instead

I cannot tell you how sad we were to leave, but it's always good to get back home. It's been over a month and Jake still asks to go to the "big, yellow house" and I always tell him that I wish we could, too! My most favorite part, however, was having this guy there with me, completely disconnected from his phone, email, and even social media. As long as he's by my side, we can vacation anywhere!

If you want even more (and probably better quality) pictures, you can check out my sister's post, here. Hopefully I'll take the time to grab some of my favorite photos from her camera and post those soon, too! I'm seriously already counting down the days until next year!

Crazy Month

Can I just put it out there that being a "stay at home mom" is EXHAUSTING??? The thought that I would have more time to do personal things is a total myth, and somehow my schedule is more packed than ever! Rather than feeling okay with my decision to put my children in front of the TV all day (which I truly understand is a necessity sometimes, so I'm not knocking it!), I now take them everywhere... playdates, the park, the grocery store, the gym, you name it! And most of my planning revolves around activities for them, not for me. By the end of the day I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open, much less post anything here on the blog, so summer has taken a toll on my regularity here! 

BUT...

Can I also just put it out there that I have never enjoyed mommyhood so much??? I already thought my kiddos were awesome (because why wouldn't? I am their mother!) but now that I get to spend every waking moment with them (aside from that glorious hour that they both nap at the same time), I think they are cuter, smarter, funnier, and more adorable than ever. Maybe I just have more "free time" to be patient, or maybe it's more consistent parenting now that I can focus on being consistent, but these little munchkins bring me abundant joy everyday. I didn't lose a job in April, but rather was gifted the time and energy to constantly pour into them. No paycheck could ever make up for what I was missing out on all of this time.

And as for the lack of posts, the above does have a lot to do with it, but because I don't have a career and a boss to report to everyday, our family has been everywhere this past month! We went from the beach to Birmingham to a weekend in Indianapolis, and the kids and I just returned from four days in Small Town, Illinois. Fingers are crossed that I will create some opportunities to sit down and post pictures from all of these trips, but I'm not beating myself up about it. For now I know exactly where I need to be, so if the blog gets neglected until school starts again, I have peace with it.

But for your viewing pleasure, and because we've all been absent on here for awhile, here are some cutie-pie faces to brighten your day!

Hope you had a great holiday... can't believe summer is halfway over already!

In Case You Were Wondering...

My blog was neglected last week because we were here...

Hellooooo, summer vacation!!

I am currently in mourning as we adjust back to real life after an incredibly fantastic week. I'm sure there are PLENTY of posts and pictures to come once my brain starts working again, but until then, I'm going to hang onto this mindset for as long as I can!  Only 358 days until we're back here again...

Our Marriage Is...

Today we celebrate only four years of marriage. I say only four because when Josh and I discussed this the other day, we both gasped in disbelief that it's only been four years... not because it's been a long, unbearable four years, but because not only has it been incredibly happy and full of abundant blessings, but it has also been so non-stop! In four years of marriage we have lived in three states, given birth to two babies, and planted two churches! We have seen our church plant thrive and grow, we have experienced the loss of my job, and have met more incredible people that we call friends than I could ever ask for. We've lost a few loved ones, traveled to see family all over the place, and spoken into the lives of many future church planters through teaching opportunities with the ARC. If this is what we can accomplish in four years together, there is no telling what more there is to come. We are definitely better together, and I think these past four years shows us that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

When looking back on all of this, I think about that woman who stood at the altar four years ago and I'm amazed at how much she has changed. Granted, Josh married me for many reasons, so I am obviously the same woman he chose in hundreds of ways, but in so many BIG ways I am so much different. There are things that I never thought I'd do (marry a pastor for one, and move back to Kentucky for another!), challenges I would have never thought I'd tackle, and risks that I would never imagine taking. The biggest rewards in my life has been through these big, unexpected risks, and I thank God for bringing this man into my life, knowing that he was the man I needed to take me on this adventure. With him at my side I have come to understand who I am in Christ more than ever before, feel the overwhelming awesomeness of God's love for me, but most importantly, my eyes have been opened to the fact that I was created on purpose and for a purpose, and my purpose in life is unique to only me. I am useful not because I have a college degree and a career I could pursue, but I am useful to God to grow His kingdom, show kindness, love people, and serve others. I'm not saying that I would've never learned those things if I hadn't met Josh, but I certainly was not on a path in that was taking me that direction before our paths collided. There are so many wonderful things that this marriage has given me, so four years in, here are just a few things that make me smile about it. 

On our fourth anniversary, our marriage is:

• One that doesn't take much work, but it does take scheduling. Our lives are busy and full with two small children and a growing church, so carving out "us-time" is something we've committed to and become really good about. I know it makes a difference.
• Full of laughter... whether it's at each other or at the kids (and it's usually the kid), there are giggles and squeals all the time. There is nobody on the planet that knows how to make me laugh like Josh can, even when I'm trying to be mad about something and don't want to! It drives me nuts!
• Strong. Before we said "I Do," we promised each other that we would never allow ourselves to be in conversations that dishonor one another or publicly cut down each other. Even harmless, sarcastic jokes can sometimes hurt, and so we try to keep that at a minimum. At times it is appropriate to rib on each other in certain circles, but we can now both gauge when those times are appropriate and when they are not. We are a team and present ourselves as a united front and it's always nice to know that we've got each other's backs.
• Based on being best friends. I seriously love waking up to this man every day and cannot imagine my life without him. We often find ourselves bored with no plans, but it's honestly because just hanging out at home with each other is enough for us. 
• Full of challenge- not in an "our marriage is challenging" kind of way, but in a "you could do more" kind of way. If I say, "I should write a book," Josh's response is, "well what are you waiting for?" If he says, "I could probably finish and IronMan," I tell him, "then go do it!" You have to be careful what you suggest around here because big dreams that need to be followed are strongly encouraged. That's why I said "yes" to his dream of planting our church (which was huge for me!) and why we continue to come up with new dreams to see the world become a better place. I hope that is something that carries down into our parenting, too.
• Not without our differences. Especially in parenting, we disagree on things just as everyone does. Finding the right discipline for our children is tough, and sometimes we disagree on their future schooling or activities, even though we're not making those decisions quite yet. People disagree- that's a fact, so no marriage is immune to that. We have house rules for how we handle conflict and I think we do great at solving things without fighting, raising our voices, cutting each other down, or making a small conflict into a bigger fight about something different. Conflict is actually healthy and for us it produces a lot of great conversations where we consider different things that we may not have considered before. And whatever we agree on, we stick to that, again being a united front and keeping our "team" strong.
• Fun! Our family still has impromptu dance parties, pizza and movie night on the living room carpet, and will randomly pack up and go on some sort of local adventure to keep things interesting. We're about to leave for the beach, and I know that will be filled with fun!
• More than I ever thought it would be. Sure, I played "house" growing up and always wanted to be a wife and a mom, but marriage is more than just having dinner on the table at night (which is good since I'm horrible at that!) and making sure his clothes are washed and put away. In my husband I have a friend, a fan, an encourager, a tear-wiper, a really good hugger, a comic relief, an incredible advice-giver, a great father for our children, a handyman, a cheerleader, a risk taker, a teacher, a listener, a dream-sharer, and the list goes on and on. I am not the woman I am today without that man beside me, and I am really proud of the things that we have already accomplished together. When I made my "wish list" of what my husband and my marriage should be, God laughed at it and responded with I have something better. So if you're out there wondering where your Mr. Right is, just know that he's not "the one" if he doesn't blow your expectations out of the water! I had to wait 27 years to meet him, but it wasn't a moment too soon. And I look forward to spending the next 27 plus years with him by my side. Together I think we really can do anything we set our minds to!

Happy anniversary, Josh. I can't believe it's only been four years! 

Our marriage is... my favorite love story.